Preparing for Sunday - The Church He Builds Part 1

Preparing for Sunday - Matthew 28:16-20
This Sunday we start a ten-week series called The Church He Builds, and we're beginning at the very end of Matthew's Gospel. Eleven men stood on a hillside in Galilee, a few of them still wavering, and the risen Christ handed them the whole thing in three verses. Read Matthew 28:16-20 a few times this week and come Sunday ready to hear what your church is and what your church is for.

Critically Think

1. Read Matthew 28:16-20 slowly, twice, before you answer anything else. In verse 16 Matthew counts them out loud: "the eleven disciples." Why does he bother with the number, and what have the last two chapters told you about why it isn't twelve?
2. Verse 17 says that when they saw Him they worshiped Him, "but some doubted." Matthew gets one shot at ending his Gospel. Why do you think he leaves that detail in?
3. In verse 18, Jesus makes a claim about Himself before He gives anybody an assignment. What exactly does He claim, and how far does He say it reaches? Notice that He names two jurisdictions and leaves none out.
4. Look closely at the verb in verse 18. Authority "has been given to me." Somebody gave it, and it happened at a point in time. Who gave it, and what had happened three days earlier that makes that verb land the way it does?
5. Verse 19 opens with "Go therefore." A therefore always reaches back to something. Trace it. What is the command in verse 19 resting on?
6. Count what look like commands in verses 19 and 20. Now look at the punctuation in your own Bible between "make disciples," "baptizing them," and "teaching them." There's no "and" between any of them. What does that suggest about how those three relate to each other?
7. Verse 20 closes with a promise instead of another command, and Jesus puts the word "behold" in front of it. What does He promise, how long does He promise it for, and where did you hear something close to it back in Matthew 1:23?

Prayerfully Meditate

1. In Gethsemane Jesus said He could call on more than twelve legions of angels, and He stayed. He had every ounce of that authority while they mocked Him and nailed a true sign over His head, and He wouldn't spend any of it getting down. What does that tell you about how He feels toward the people He was buying?
2. This church is His, and it has one job. If that sentence is true, what does it change about the way you walked through the doors last Sunday, and about what you came expecting?
3. Verse 20 doesn't aim teaching at information. It aims it at obedience: "teaching them to observe." Where is there something in your life you've known to be true for years and have never once done?
4. He paid for this church, and He has never once left it to do the work alone. Where have you been carrying something this month as though that were not true?
5. Verse 19 says "all nations," which means this congregation exists for people who aren't in the room yet. Who is in your week that has never sat in one of our chairs?

Intentionally Act

1. Name one person. A first name, somebody you could text this afternoon. Write it on something you'll still have Sunday morning, and take one step with them this week.
2. Name somebody who has never been in this building, and pray for them by name every day between now and Sunday.
3. Find the thing you already know and haven't done. There's a sermon from the last year you agreed with and never acted on. Pick it back up this week and actually do it.
4. Parents, take one command of Jesus and teach it at your own table before Sunday. Nobody is going to disciple your children on your behalf, and Sunday morning can help you with it but it can't do it for you.
5. If you've trusted Christ and you've never been baptized, read verse 19 one more time and come find me after the service. Let's get it on the calendar.

And learn the songs below before Sunday, so you can come in already singing instead of catching up.
Songs for Sunday